Thomas Collins

How do we know if the use of technology is effective for learning?

My thoughts about the issues raised in this article and how they might impact on my first assignment and its aims.

The aims:

This assignment will enable you to demonstrate:

o Your understanding of theoretical and practical frameworks for technologies for learning;
o Your understanding of technology use in the classroom relating technology use to curriculum outcomes;
o The ability to contrast the capabilities and affordances of a range of classroom technologies; and
o Awareness of ethical, safety and classroom management issues relating to technology use in the classroom.

It seems like it’s important to justify the use of computing in the activity. It shouldn’t be just using computers for the sake of it. In terms of curriculum outcomes it addresses the need for creativity, imagination, reflecting on the importance of structure and the creation of a multimodal text relevant to the modern context.

Instead of using computers in a way that only replaces a classroom activity (domestication), such as word processing. Computers will afford students to be content producers and create texts they were previously unable to such as edited videos.

The activity will also allow the students to use mobile phones (after checking with the school) to film, again introducing relevant tech to the classroom (the issue being that personal life has far more tech than the average classroom)

I would frame the use of computers and mobiles as important modern life tools, rather than educational ones.